Efforts have recently been made to utilize conventional telephone RJ45 jack and plug connectors for data transmission having higher transmission frequencies than is required in voice transmission. The performance criteria for such jack and plug connectors is governed by the EIA/TIA standard TSB-40 (connecting hardware specification), Category 5. One aspect of the Category 5 level in the standard is a lower level of crosstalk coupling between adjacent contacts in the electrical connectors. By way of example, a standard OMNI RJ45 jack connector in commercial use by the assignee of the subject application meets Category 3 of the crosstalk requirements per the TSB-40 performance requirements.
It is known that crosstalk reduction or cancellation may be achieved in an electrical connector by adding capacitance between certain pairs of conductors or contacts within a standard OMNI jack. This is described, in particular in U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/011,020, entitled, "Apparatus and Method for Cross-Talk Reduction," filed on Jan. 29, 1993, and assigned to the same assignee as the subject application. As described and shown in such application, the particular technique for increasing the capacitance between selected connector contacts is to add discrete capacitors thereto. The application further recognizes that such increased capacitance may be obtained from distributed and/or stray capacitance which may be derived from appropriate disposition of traces on a printed circuit board which is used to connect selected pairs of contacts in the connectors described therein.
It is therefore desirable to not only achieve an electrical connector having the Category 5 crosstalk requirements, but also to decrease the cost of such connectors and improve the manufacturability thereof. It is further desirable to continue to utilize standard devices as much as possible, such as the use of a standard OMNI plug if a modified jack in connection therewith satisfactorily meets the Category 5 performance level.